Academic Senate
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Academic Senate Student Learning Outcomes Why The Controversy? Presentation to the MPC Board of Trustees November 25, 2008
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Academic Senate. Student Learning Outcomes Why The Controversy?. Presentation to the MPC Board of Trustees November 25, 2008. Academic Senate. First Things First What are SLOs?. - PowerPoint PPT Presentation
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Academic Senate
Student Learning Outcomes
Why The Controversy?
Presentation to the MPC Board of TrusteesNovember 25, 2008
Academic Senate
First Things First
What are SLOs?
ACCJC: Knowledge, skills, abilities, and attitudes that a student has attained at the end (or as a result) of his or her engagement in a particular set of collegiate experiences.
MPC: An SLO is a measurable or evaluable description of what students are expected to be able to “do” as they successfully complete a course. The word “do,” in this context, could mean “perform,” “paint,” “analyze,” “demonstrate,” “synthesize,” “use the scientific method,” or any number of verbs appropriate for a particular course.
But there’s more…..
Academic Senate
First Things First
What is the SLO-Assessment Model?
Shifts the focus to student learning Integrates the assessment results into all aspects of
institutional planning and resource allocation
Expectations of student learning…..Assessment…..
Analysis…..Dialog…..
Planning
Academic SenateSLOs: So Why the Controversy?
Evaluation
Work Load
Standardization/Academic Freedom
Student Indoctrination?
Bureaucratic waste of time becauseWe already do itDoesn’t value the individuality of studentsDoesn’t value the complexity of teaching and learningCan’t possibly be of any valueIt’s a fad…Nobody caresWe should spend our time teaching
Not suggesting these objections are valid, or that we all agree. Just that they exist.
Academic Senate
Evaluation From the ACCJC Standards, in the HR section:
“Faculty and others directly responsible for student progress toward achieving stated student learning outcomes have, as a component of their evaluation, effectiveness in producing those learning outcomes.”
Faculty evaluation is negotiable issue, not a directive of an accrediting agency.
Could lead to low-level learning….Can you spell E-a-r-t-h?
SLO Controversy
CTA parent investigating legal action.
Academic Senate
Work Load
Developing SLOs…..evaluating them…..analyzing the results.. …talking about them……planning what to do next….
How much time will this take?
SLO Controversy
A lot, to do it well.
All take time.
It’s why we’re all so busy.
Academic Senate
Work Load
An un-negotiatedaddition to our workload.
SLO Controversy
An over-riding framework for
what we already do as faculty.
Developing SLOs…..evaluating them…..analyzing the results.. …talking about them……planning what to do next….
Academic Senate
Standardization/Academic Freedom
Assessment and Dialog:Where should it lead us?......What should we agree on?
-Student Expectations? -Tests?-Assessment Tools? -Assignments?-Identical Syllabi -Daily lectures?
Students’ access to a diversity of views and opinions.
This diversity is intellectual pluralism, the marketplace of ideas, the foundation of our Academic Freedom policy.
SLO Controversy
Or a framework for ensuring consistency between courses?
Academic Senate
Standardization/Academic Freedom
Academic Freedom Intellectual Pluralism
SLO Controversy
Consistencybetween sections,
alignment of curriculum
How should assessment and dialog change our teaching?
Academic Senate
Standardization/Academic Freedom
SLO Controversy
What are SLOs again?
This isNo Child Left Behind
Means to defend againstNo Child Left Behind
CTA State Leadership
State Academic Senate
Lower academic stdsCan you spell E-A-R-T-H?
Faculty’s opportunity to set academic stds
Academic Senate
Student Indoctrination
“The evidence the institution presents should also be about student learning outcomes (mastery of the knowledge, skills, abilities, competencies, attitudes, beliefs, opinions, and values at the course, program, and degree levels in the context of each college’s mission and population)…” [ACCJC Guide to Evaluating Institutions, page 11; emphasis mine]
This is more like brainwashing than education.
Relates to Students’ Academic Freedom
SLO Controversy
Or is it all up to us to define?
Academic Senate
“ mastery of the knowledge, skills, abilities, competencies, attitudes, beliefs, opinions, and values at the course, program, and degree levels in the context of each college’s mission and population…” [ACCJC Guide to Evaluating Institutions, page 11; emphasis mine]
SLO Controversy
Which beliefs, values, or opinions?……..Appropriate?
Academic Senate
“ mastery of the knowledge, skills, abilities, competencies, attitudes, beliefs, opinions, and values at the course, program, and degree levels in the context of each college’s mission and population…” [ACCJC Guide to Evaluating Institutions, page 11; emphasis mine]
SLO Controversy
Which beliefs, values, or opinions?……..Appropriate?
Skills, abilities, and competencies are
up to us
Academic Senate
Bureaucratic Waste of Time
Doesn’t value the individuality of students.Students learn differently Have chaotic livesRespond/learn in many different ways to our coursesNot always captured in pithy statements
SLO Controversy
Doesn’t value the complexity of topics and teaching.SLOs become overly vague generalizations of what we expect
“Use the Scientific Method to investigate the natural world.”In what context?At what complexity?
Academic Senate
Bureaucratic Waste of Time
Can’t possibly be of any valueIt’s a fad…..Nobody cares about themWe should spend our time teachingWhat is it we shouldn’t do, to complete these SLO tasks?
SLO Controversy
We already do this.Course Outline of Record
State Mandated through Title 5Objectives (=ACCJC SLOs)Assessment Methods
Informally with Colleagues
Academic Senate
We already do this
SLO Controversy
Extra work better directed
elsewhere
Why don’t we want this again?
Bureaucratic Waste of Time
Academic SenateSLOs Controversy
Standardization/Academic FreedomEvaluationWork LoadStudent Indoctrination?Bureaucratic waste of time
Do ALL faculty worry about these things?
But we also believe in accreditation.
YES!YES!
Academic SenateSLO Controversy
No clarity from ACCJC
Why has there been such controversy?
Lack of experienced leadership at MPC
No agreement on what SLOs represent or should be used for.
Academic SenateSLO Controversy
No agreement on what SLOs are.
NCLB Prevent NCLB
More work
What we do now
Standardization Consistency
Academic SenateSLO Controversy
No clarity from ACCJC
A recognition of what it means to be an ethical human
being and effective citizen….”
“General education has comprehensive learning outcomes ……including the following:
Academic SenateSLO Controversy
No clarity from ACCJC
A recognition of what it means to be an ethical human
being and effective citizen….”
“General education has comprehensive learning outcomes ……including the following:
“The willingness to assume civic, political, and social responsibilities locally, nationally, and globally.”
Academic SenateSLO Controversy
Lack of experienced leadership at MPC
SLOs are new; no agreement on what they represent
SLOs are a multi-faceted and complicated
Difficult to lead without common definitions
Academic Senate
So what are SLOs?
On behalf of the Academic Senate, Thank you.
